Ubering, Lyft, & Generally Driving & Riding Around

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Someone Copied The Wrong Person On An Email, And It Just Might Destroy Uber. How to See Your Rating. How to See Your Uber Passenger Rating. In Video, Uber CEO Argues With Driver Over Falling Fares - Bloomberg. When Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick takes an Uber, he prefers a black car, the high-end service his company introduced in 2010.

On this particular night in early February—Super Bowl Sunday—Kalanick is perched in the middle seat, flanked by two female friends. Maroon 5’s “Don’t Wanna Know” plays, and Kalanick shimmies.
Log In - New York Times. How Uber Drivers Decide How Long to Work. (The hourly wage of cabdrivers typically reflects how busy they are; the rate they can charge doesn’t change unexpectedly.

For Uber drivers, the hourly wage reflects both busyness and rates, since Uber can increase prices when demand is high.) Photo “A substantial, although not most, fraction of partners do in fact come into the market with income targeting behavior,” the paper’s author, Michael Sheldon, an Uber data scientist, wrote.
Pando. Pando. With another mega-round in progress, Airbnb has achieved something Uber hasn’t. You gotta know when to fold ‘em: Uber and Didi call a truce in China with a $35 billion deal - Recode. Revealed in court: 100% cast iron evidence of how Uber lies to secretly investigate and smear its critics. Uber in Europe: back to the future. Where will Uber stop?

After the news that the Saudi’s have decided to invest $3.5bn in the company, came details of a further $2bn Uber wants to raise from financial markets using tecniques never deployed before by a start-up. Uber already has a war-chest of $14 bn. to spend in expanding its role in the Middle East, Africa, India and China, as well as to develop new services like driverless cars and car-pooling. But it’s in Europe that the company has encountered the greatest opposition to its presence and its methods, confirming the Old World’s status as the place where America’s tech giants find their toughest official critics and most militant opponents in local business. Uber’s urge to simply ignore local regulations and apply the same aggressive drive to attract drivers and customers that worked so well in the US has backfired in Europe, as it has in nations as far apart as Indonesia, South Africa and Chile.

How Uber and Lyft lost Austin. This story is part of a series of features, The Future of Ride-Hailing.

The project is intended to show how the taxicab industry, with varying degrees of success, is pushing back against the existential threat posed by the rise of ride-hailing services like Lyft and Uber. It’s election day in Austin, Texas, and the campaign that funneled more than $8 million to secure the future of Uber and Lyft in the city didn’t bother to throw an official party to watch results.

An afternoon text from Ridesharing Works for Austin Deputy Outreach Director Huey Rey Fischer reads like resigned contempt for the process.
Uber vs. Lyft vs. the taxi industry: How they stack up. This story is part of a series of features, The Future of Ride-Hailing.

The project is intended to show how the taxicab industry, with varying degrees of success, is pushing back against the existential threat posed by the rise of ride-hailing services like Lyft and Uber. To get a license as a taxi driver in Chicago, you have to be current on all child support payments and have paid off all your parkings tickets. D.C. cab drivers must turn in three letters of recommendation and undergo a drug test. San Francisco requires prospective cabbies to pass taxi training school and submit a 10-year print out of their driving record. All three cities also require cab drivers to pass fingerprint background checks.

The unexpected perks of Lyft and Uber’s random encounters. This story is part of a series of features, The Future of Ride-Hailing.

The project is intended to show how the taxicab industry, with varying degrees of success, is pushing back against the existential threat posed by the rise of ride-hailing services like Lyft and Uber. The first time I met Wesley, I tried to explain the cloud. His red mini-SUV had a spotless yet well-loved interior. He drove me to a lunch date with a friend, windows rolled down to welcome the sunshine and a gentle breeze that burned away the San Francisco fog.
Pando. Kalamazoo Killer Jason Dalton Was an Uber Driver Who Took Passengers For a Terrifying Ride During Spree. Kalamazoo police claim the 45-year-old man who went on a shooting spree Saturday night, killing six, was an Uber driver who dropped off passengers between shootings.

According to WOOD-TV, authorities are investigating reports that the suspected gunman, Jason Dalton, dropped off a group of people at a Fairfield Inn before going next door to the Cracker Barrel and opening fire on two vehicles, killing four people. People staying at the hotel claimed the passengers dropped off there were interviewed by police following the shootings. FOX17 is investigating an online posting that claimed Dalton had been reported earlier to 911 for driving erratically and scaring customers who escaped from the car when the driver slowed down.

Uber and Lyft’s big new lie: Their excuse for avoiding regulation is finally falling apart. Recently Lyft and General Motors made a grand announcement, with all the hoopla meant to convey that this announcement is a really big deal: ta-daaaa, a joint partnership in which Lyft will develop self-driving cars with GM.

GM is going to invest $500 million in Lyft, and GM president Daniel Ammann will join the board of Lyft. Never mind that self-driving cars (beyond test cars) will not appear on the streets anytime soon – and possibly never, due to the severe regulatory and insurance hurdles involved in letting a 3,000-pound machine steer itself with no human at the controls.

" - Travis Kalanick When Uber was forced to shut down its yellow cab hailing service in New York last week, founder Travis Kalanick threw a fit that PandoDaily's Nathaniel Mott described as "downright adolescent... just short of [Kalanick] stamping his feet.
" In fact, as Mott explains (and as sources close to the negotiations have independently confirmed), there was precisely one reason why UberTaxi failed to take Manhattan: Travis Kalanick himself. For one thing, the TLC is bound by contracts with existing vendors not to allow any other credit card processing in NY cabs until next February. Likewise, changing laws on handheld devices and pre-booked pickups cannot happen overnight.
Pando. I’d have more sympathy for those who whine about Pando’s constant coverage of Uber if everyone else wasn’t doing such a fuck-awful job of covering the company.

On Friday, the New York Times’ Mike Isaac published a scoop: Uber is laying off around 20 people in its comms and policy department. As Isaac reported, the move follows the recent arrival of Rachel Whetstone as Uber’s head of policy and communications. Given the influence wielded by Whetstone (see Pando passim) and the importance of strategy and comms to Uber’s long term success, this should be a big story. It is a big story. And yet. Worse, even Isaac buried the real story...
Uk.businessinsider. Courtesy of Summit at Sea In a rare and far-ranging interview, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Alphabet’s Eric Schmidt sat down with each other to discuss their vision for the future of transportation.

At the Summit At Sea gathering in Miami last Friday, Schmidt interviewed Kalanick about the endgame for Uber, taxi regulations, transitioning workers after driverless cars, and Uber’s most bizarre tales. I’ve summarized the highlights of the talk in 5 quotes (note: Google is an investor in Uber): On taxi union and medallions. More States Just Dealt A Blow To Uber Drivers Seeking Benefits. Uber Is Taking Millions Of Manhattan Rides Away From Taxis. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio took aim at Uber this summer, trying (and failing) to set a cap on the number of its for-hire cars operating in the city. The ride-share service has drawn criticism on a number of issues — including its labor practices — but the mayor said his main concern was traffic congestion.

The number of yellow and green taxis on New York’s streets is carefully controlled by the city. Would additional pickups from an uncapped Uber fleet lead to urban gridlock? Based on year-over-year counts, these fears appear to be unfounded.
Capital - Is this the end of tipping?
Uber Drivers' Labor Lawsuit Granted Class Action Status In California. Enter the Wasteland. Tin Foil Hats. High noon: I’m coming up on a red at 7th, heading west on Market. The Tenderloin. There’s an empty Yellow just ahead of me at the light and an historic F line street car just letting off on the platform to our left.

As the passengers pour out onto the island dividing the two westbound lanes here, I note one dude – a bit frantic – check out Yellow, and then come running back to me. Dunno why dude would be getting off a train and then immediately try to hail a cab, or why he didn’t go for the empty Yellow in front, but I wave him in… Although a bit edgy, a skinny 30-ish Pryor is wearing a clean white T nicely tucked-in that complements his chocolate skin, stylish jeans, and a large diamond earring in his left ear – presumably fake, he seems like he may be rational. He jumps in back, anxious. “We need to drive. Well, I should mention that I’ve been remiss in mentioning that there’s a black & white just behind the train that Pryor jumped out of.

“Uhhh. “(GASP!) “Uhhh. “Come on, man!
When You Drive A Taxi, You See All Kinds Of Fares - The Onion - America's Finest News Source. I love being a cabbie. A lot of jobs are pretty much the same thing day in, day out, but in my line of work, every day brings something new. I’ve been in the business more than 20 years now, and I can tell you from experience that no two shifts are alike.

What keeps it interesting? Well, when you drive a taxi for a living, you see all different types of fares.
Uber Launches Quarterly Print Magazine For Drivers. New Premium Uber Service Lets Users Commandeer Any Car. The Rideshare Paradox. Friends with Benefits. Uber’s System for Screening Drivers Draws Scrutiny. Photo. The Uber You Reap Is The Uber You Sow.

I never thought it would happen, but I’m officially sick of reading about Uber. When I mentioned this to the Wife, she quickly replied, “Now you know how I feel.” Fair enough. I have been somewhat obsessed with Uber and Lyft. I’m a driver. It’s hard not to think (and blog) about the injustices we face every day at the hands of these two companies. Since I first considered driving back in December of 2013, I’ve been reading every article about ridesharing that has crossed my Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Dear Travis: A Miami Uber driver takes exception to the company’s rate cuts. My Uber Breaking Point. 8 Unbelievable Uber Stories. Black Friday 2014: Best Deals & Bargains. Retailers across the nation are opening their doors earlier than ever ahead of Black Friday to get customers in the aisles.
Uber Receives ‘F’ Grade From Better Business Bureau.

The Sharing Economy’s ‘First Strike’: Uber Drivers Turn Off the App. Wednesday, Oct 22, 2014, 4:54 pm BY Rebecca Burns Uber drivers went on strike in five different cities on Oct. 22, including San Francisco. (@YayneAbeba / Twitter) Silicon Valley types often wax lyrical about the way that the app-based “sharing economy” disrupts existing business models and create new forms of social relations. When tech magnates extol “disruption,” of course, they likely aren’t talking about the sort caused by labor actions. But on October 22, tech-giant Uber got a taste of its own disruptive medicine when drivers in at least five cities who work on the ridesharing platform turned off their apps and stopped picking up passengers, in protest of what they say are unjust working conditions and a dwindling share in the company’s profits.

A small crowd of Uber drivers and labor activists rallied outside the company’s offices in Santa Monica, California, at noon today, carrying signs reading “Uber: 15 Hour Days and Poverty Wages” and “Stop the War on Workers.”
I quit: Miseries of an Uber driver. Behind the Wheel 2: Notes from an Uber/Lyft – The New Zine. Behind the Wheel 2 includes more insight into the day-to-day travails of a rideshare driver in San Francisco, more stories about driving drunks, switching from Lyft to Uber, a visit to Uber HQ, self-entitled douchebags, talk of gentrification and displacement, the tech boom, public debauchery, emotional breakdowns, police activity and the constant threat of pukers. The print version is available through Etsy or PayPal.
Uber's Fight Of California Data-Sharing Rule Highlights Its Bumpy Road.